Hi there, Jessica here. If you couldn’t tell by all of the Sephora Favorites boxes I review, I’m a little bit of a Sephora nut (dare I say that I am the MSA Sephora Expert?), and I have been for years. I’ve maintained my Rouge status with Sephora for the last three or four years (at least), and was VIB for years prior to that. There’s no beating around the bush- a decent chunk of my discretionary spending goes to Sephora. But, with great beauty products also comes Beauty Insider Points, and I’m here to give you tips on how to maximize your rewards.
The Beauty Insider Program
In case you’re new to Sephora, they have a point reward system that is used when you make purchases with your Sephora account. While Sephora does have a credit card, you don’t have to pay money to join the Beauty Insider program. As long as you have a valid email address, you become immediately eligible for perks like discounts, a birthday gift, and point multiplier events. Every member earns 1 point for every $1 spent, and once you hit 100 points you can redeem them for products- or save them for even greater rewards.
Reward Categories
Sephora divides their rewards into different point categories:
- 100 points - get one item in exchange for 100 points
- 250-499 points - get one slightly larger product (like a deluxe perfume sample) or a bundle of two products
- 500-749 points - this category will have bigger products, bigger bundles, and the ability to take $10 off your Sephora purchase
- 750-1,000 points - once you're in this category, you can start keeping an eye out for full-size products
- Up to 20,000 point range - While I do my best to save my points, I don’t think I’ll ever quite save enough to redeem for those rewards, which include attending industry events, meeting brand founders or getting professional consultations, and a lot of full-size products
Why Saving Your Points Gives You The Best Deal
The signature 2,500 point reward allows you to exchange those points for a $100 gift card for you to spend on anything you want, which is pretty sweet. If that’s the best choice for you, then by all means go for it. But if you’re willing to be patient, you can get more than $100 worth of products from Sephora for 2,500 points or less. Don’t believe me? Let’s do the math and take a look at products I have redeemed my points for over the years.
Back in 2018, after lots of saving (I was still in law school so the discretionary spending budget was much smaller), I was able to redeem for two full-size products: the Nars Laguna Bronzer (RV: $38) and the GlamGlow Glitter Gravity Mud Mask (RV: $60). Both of those products were available for 750 points a piece, meaning that I spent 1,500 points for $98 in product, instead of 2,500 points for $100. But Jessica, I would never use a purple glitter mask- I don’t want to spend my points on that, you might say. I hear you friend! Do you think the last time I redeemed my points was in 2018? Let's take a look at what other rewards I have redeemed over the years and their retail value and point cost.
100 Point Rewards
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I rarely redeem for 100 point rewards because usually, the products featured are the same products you can get with a Gift With Purchase code. However, there have been two products in the past year or so that I chose to redeem 100 points for. Once was a sample of the Nest Turkish Rose Fragrance oil, because that was a new product release at the time and I love rose scents, so I really wanted to try it out before thinking about committing $98 of my hard-earned dollars for one ounce of the stuff. The other product (that I actually redeemed 100 points two or three times) was the Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Daily Peels, which came in a box of three. I accidentally got my mom hooked on these, but she balks at paying $88 for thirty treatments. I grabbed a couple of these because it was worth it to have some extra to give to my mom.
750 Point Rewards
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I've never redeemed 500 points for a sample set, so the next point category I have actually redeemed is 750 points. There are two in the past few years I have snagged (plus the Nars Bronzer and GlamGlow mask I talked about above). One was a set by Nest Fragrances that was available just about a year ago- it featured a Mediterranean Fig votive candle that retails for $17, as well as a mini dry body oil spray in their sunkissed hibiscus scent, an orange and white turkish towel, and a sturdy canvas and burlap reusable tote bag that I still use to haul packages to the post office or groceries into my apartment. Those last three items aren't available for sale, so I don't have a quantifiable value for this set beyond the candle. That being said, this was definitely worth 750 points to me.
The other reward I redeemed in this category was a set from belif. It featured an adorable bunny-eared cloth headband that is great for when you're washing your face or applying a face mask, a bunny-eared scrubber for makeup removing, a sample of their newly released (at the time) cleansing balm, a sample of their Aqua Bomb hydrating toner, a mini of their True Cream Aqua Bomb (RV: $22), and a mini of their True Cream Moisturizing Bomb (RV: $22). So that was $44 worth of product just for the two moisturizers, and then another four products in the set for 750 points total- I definitely found it worth it.
1,500 Point Rewards
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In my years of experience, this has been the sweet spot for getting awesome products for a good value. Back in 2019, it was the 10 year anniversary of First Aid Beauty, and there was a reward with full-sizes of their cleanser, Ultra Repair Cream, Priming Moisturizer, and Radiance Pads - plus a branded scarf, pin, tote bag, and makeup bag. The value of just the full-size products was $113, and that didn't even include the extra items we received. More recently, there was a 1,500 point reward with Maison Margiela: Replica that featured a full-size At The Barber's candle (RV: $62), and travel sprays of their Springtime In A Park and Under The Lemon Trees fragrances (RV: $30 each). I already loved the Replica fragrances I had tried from the brand, so getting to try two new fragrances plus a full-size luxury candle was a reward I was so excited for. To date, I think this has been my favorite reward I've redeemed my points for. Most recently, I redeemed 1,500 points for a Farmacy set that came with a small branded makeup bag, and a full-size of their newly launched Filling Good Hyaluronic Acid Serum (RV: $44) and Honey Halo Moisturizer ($45). I had really been wanting to try Honey Halo, so getting it in this set increased the personal value for me even if the retail value was lower than some of the other rewards.
2,500 Point Rewards
I've redeemed my points for that $100 gift card exactly once, and I don't think I will do it again. The biggest thing to know with this is that while it is a gift card, you cannot return any part of your purchase if something doesn't work out. That puts a lot of pressure to make sure you know you like something before you use points for the gift card, and I don't like that it is treated differently than other gift cards. I haven't redeemed anything worth more than 2,500 points yet- my balance is just over 3,100 points right now, and I honestly don't know if I will keep saving for a super high-tier reward, or grab the next cool 1,500 point reward that comes along.
Tips to Know
The really awesome rewards tend to be redeemed fast. About once a month or so, Sephora will send an email showing upcoming rewards, and if something catches your eye, it's a bummer to miss out on getting it. New rewards are launched every Tuesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. CST, and I have honestly gotten into the habit of checking the rewards bazaar at those days and times, if I am not busy. Sometimes it takes a while for the reward you want to be available; I would say it was about 6 weeks between when Sephora sent the email about the Replica reward and when it was actually available, and it was driving me crazy and I was actually scared I had missed it and didn't realize it. If you want to save up points but don't tend to purchase a large amount of products, I would recommend keeping a list of what you want, and then making one massive order when Sephora has their point multiplier events (they have this at least once a year, but they may happen more frequently). During the most recent event, I got 4x points because I am Rouge, and I believe VIB got 3x, and regular Beauty Insiders got 2x. Another good thing about those point multiplier events is that the points coupon you enter can be stacked with a GWP coupon, which is nice because coupons don't usually stack. Buying everything during a point multiplier event can help you save a ton of points, without having to actually spend any more then you were already planning to (unless you're like me and lack the occasional impulse control). Sephora also recently had a bonus where if you spent $50, you could get 500 extra points, which I definitely used (but the coupon could only be used once).
I hope this guide is helpful to you for maximizing your personal benefit when it comes to the Sephora Rewards Bazaar. If it makes you the happiest to redeem 100 points for small items, by all means keep doing it, but with some patience and timely clicking, you can get some really high-valued products.
Do you have any Sephora Rewards tips of your own? Have you ever snagged anything super cool with your points? Let me know below- I always love to talk all things Sephora.
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